How to attend India’s third-gender festival where thousands marry a god
It has become one of the largest annual gatherings of hijra in the world, with around 150,000 attendees each year.
Mark
Each year, in April or May, thousands from India’s third-gender community, known as hijra, travel to the sleepy village of Koovagam. For 18 days, they participate in a colorful and deeply spiritual celebration, which ends with a wedding – that of the hijra to the deity Aravan. They tie wedding bands around their necks and celebrate their union. The following day, they mourn Aravan’s death as widows.
The Koovagam festival is rooted in Hindu mythology and tradition. Today, it is also a place for hijras to celebrate their third-gender identity. There are political discussions, religious rites, music, dancing, and even a beauty pageant.
Foreign visitors receive a warm welcome at the joyous and chaotic event, which has all the spirit of a Pride festival, though rooted in a very different cultural context and history.
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A Celebration of Aravan, Patron God of the Hijra Community
The festival reenacts an episode from the Mahabharata, one of Hinduism’s two major texts. The Sanskrit epic tells the story of a dynastic war between two sets of cousins: the virtuous Pandavas and the power-hungry Kauravas. More than a family spat, the battle represents the timeless struggle between good and evil.
At one point, the Pandavas need to earn the support of Kali, a fierce goddess who rides a tiger and wears a necklace of skulls. She demands a human sacrifice. Aravan, one of the Pandava cousins, volunteers on one condition. He wants to experience marriage before his death.
No woman would agree to marry a man who was destined to die the very next day, as widowhood carried immense social stigma at the time. So the god Krishna stepped in. He took on his female form, Mohini, and became Aravan’s bride. The next day, Aravan cut himself into 32 parts and offered himself to Kali.
Today, Aravan is worshipped as a deity and revered as the patron god of the hijra community. The Koothandavar Temple in Koovagam is dedicated to him, and the yearly festival commemorates both his sacrifice and Krishna’s temporary transition and marriage. It has become one of the largest annual gatherings of hijra in the world, with around 150,000 attendees each year.
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Who are the Hijra, South Asia’s Third Gender?
The Koovagam festival holds deep significance for India’s hijra community, which continues to face discrimination in everyday life. Although often marginalized today, the third gender has ancient roots, with mentions in historical texts dating back 5,000 years. Hijras have long played important roles in Hindu society, especially in religious ceremonies.
Becoming hijra isn’t just a question of personal identity. It requires leaving your family and joining a hijra community. Each new member follows a guru, who teaches them the hijra way of life and the religious rites they are expected to perform.
Hijra individuals are often intersex, or assigned male at birth. They were traditionally considered a third gender, although today some identify as non-binary or trans. Hijras usually dress in traditionally feminine ways, wearing makeup and sarees. Some undergo a ceremonial removal of their male genitalia, which they offer to Bahuchara Mata, goddess of chastity, depicted riding a chicken and holding a curved sword.
Hijras travel between weddings and birth celebrations, where they sing, dance, and bless the family. They can also curse them if they are not treated or paid well. Because of this, hijras have traditionally been both feared and respected.
However, this changed with British colonization. In 1871, the British outlawed hijras under the Criminal Tribes Act, and colonial officers were instructed to apprehend them on sight. Though hijra never disappeared, the stigma introduced under colonial rule had long-lasting effects. Today, many third-gender individuals face social rejection and poverty. They are denied access to education and employment, and some are forced into begging or sex work.
Although the Koovagam gathering is primarily celebratory, it is also a space for political advocacy and activism. Many hijra and NGOs use the event to draw attention to the ongoing oppression and demand better conditions. For instance, the 2024 Miss Koovaga Beauty Pageant winner, A. Niranjana, told reporters: “I demand the state government to provide special reservations for transgender people in all government jobs, so that our livelihoods will be more dignified.” She added that she would use her platform to help secure a better future for young transgender individuals.
How to Visit the Koovagam Festival
The Koovagam festival is free and open to all. It lasts 18 days, usually from late April to early May. The first 16 days feature an eclectic program of theatre, music, NGO talks, beauty pageants, and fashion shows. Most events take place in Tamil, the local language.
The highlight is the 17th day, when hijras dress as brides in colorful sarees, clinking bangles, and intricate jewelry. They walk in procession to the Koothandavar Temple to symbolically marry Aravan. Temple priests tie mangalsutras—wedding necklaces—around their necks to seal the union. A large image of Aravan’s head is carried through the streets in celebration.
On the 18th day, the mood shifts. Hijras return to the temple in white mourning sarees, stripped of makeup. The priests remove their wedding necklaces, and the hijras smash their bangles in grief. The sounds of joy from the previous day are replaced with sounds of sorrow. The ritual honors Aravan’s sacrifice, but it is also a cathartic release for a community that has been pushed to the margins of society.
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Visiting Koovagam Outside of the Festival
Outside of the festival period, Koovagam is a sleepy place. Set in the green fields of the Tamil Nadu countryside, at the end of a windy, bumpy road, the village is indistinguishable from countless other rural communities across India.
Still, the Sri Koovagam temple is worth visiting at any time of year. It is built in the South Indian style, with a pyramidal gate tower adorned with brightly colored carvings of gods and goddesses. A wall surrounds the temple complex, and inside it is often buzzing with activity. Devotees worship Aravan with offerings, chants, and burning incense. Priests may offer you a prayer, bless you with water, or mark your forehead with a dab of red paste.
Visiting Koovagam outside the festivities is a calmer, more intimate experience that can be equally spiritual, especially if you want to pay your own quiet respects to Aravan, patron deity of the third-gender.
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